Negative progressive wager device and method

ABSTRACT

A card game is provided where a hold percentage dictated by a first part of the game is offset by an additional customizable bet having a negative hold percentage to create an overall game with a desired hold percentage.

CLAIM FOR PRIORITY

The present application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application 61/530,263 filed Sep. 1, 2011, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to a method of entertainment. The present disclosure relates more specifically to a card game having a novel payout structure.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

The present method of entertainment is an adaptation of poker, closely related to Caribbean Stud poker and Russian Poker as described in U.S. Publication No. 2004/0248635.

The construct of common poker uses a common 52 card deck and provides a hierarchy of card collections that are possible from the cards in combination. Both Russian Poker and the variant of the present disclosure provide a specific set of rules that govern how a player may go about assembling a card collection and provide a payment schedule for the various collections with reference to the collection of an opponent or dealer.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of playing a card game is provided including accepting a first wager type from a player on a first gaming round, the first wager type having a first expected hold percentage for the game operator, the first expected hold percentage being greater than zero; and accepting a second wager type from a player on the first gaming round, the second wager type being a progressive type wager, the payout of which is at least partially dependent upon a size of a progressive pot linked to the progressive wager, the second wager type having a second expected hold percentage for the game operator, the second expected hold percentage being less than zero, the second wager type only being accepted from players who have placed a first wager type on the first gaming round.

Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the presently perceived best mode of carrying out the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description of the drawings particularly refers to the accompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1 is an overhead view of a table layout used in the present method of entertainment;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the method of entertainment carried out on the table of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a machine used in the present method of entertainment; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing operation of wagering on the table of FIG. 1 or the machine of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present application describes a card game and a progressive jackpot associated with a card game. One such card game usable with the teachings of the present disclosure is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/858,276, titled CARD GAME, filed Aug. 17, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The method of entertainment, as shown in FIG. 1, uses a gaming table 1 (block 500), chip holder 2, table's cover 3 with the outline of the playing field, chips and a deck of cards, in which one or several players make cash bets using chips. Players' places are marked on cloth cover 3 of gaming table 1 and each place consists of four betting zones 4, 5, 6, 7. Alternatively, a machine can be used in place of table 1, block 500. One such machine is shown in FIG. 3. A more detailed description of the machine of FIG. 3 can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/560,574, Titled CARD GAME, filed Jul. 27, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The game uses one standard deck of 52 cards, consisting of 4 suits of 13 cards each.

Zone 4 (Ante) is for an initial bet. Zone 6 (Bet) is for receiving doubled bets. Zone 5 (Options) is for placing chips to purchase a sixth card, for placing chips to be used to make an exchange of cards, to buy insurance, or to “buy the game,” each of which is discussed in more detail below. Zone 7 is to wager on a bonus option.

As shown in FIG. 2, a player arrives at the table in block 101. For a round to commence, block 102, a player has the option of placing an ante wager on one box 4 only, or additional boxes 4 may be played “Blind” up to four boxes in total, block 510. A maximum of five boxes (only four shown) can be played in one round of play. When playing more than one station, the players may only view the cards of one of the stations. Once the cards at one station are chosen to be viewed by the player, the cards at the other stations are off limits to the player and are not revealed until later in the game as discussed below. The player also has the option of placing a bonus wager on each zone 7 for which he has placed a wager on the associated ante zone 4.

In block 103, the dealer deals five cards each to all the players, himself included, and the last card that goes to the dealer is dealt face-up. After all of the boxes in play have been dealt five cards, the players will be permitted to view and evaluate their hands.

In block 104, the bet on the bonus, located on zone 7, pays out when there is a combination in the player's initial hand of a flush or higher (according to standard poker ranking), regardless of the playing combination in the dealer's hand. (A playing combination, also called a “qualifying hand” is discussed below and is defined as a hand having a minimum poker combination of Ace-King). Additionally, the player may place a bonus bet on the dealer's original 5 cards. In that the dealer's cards are not shown until later in the game, the payout for a bonus bet on the dealer's cards is not paid until the dealer's cards are revealed.

After having viewed their initial five cards, the player has four options. The first option, choice 105, allows the player to choose to exchange cards in an attempt to improve their hand. The player can exchange up to five cards, block 106. The exchanging of any cards costs the player the equivalent of their “ANTE” wager. The player places their unwanted cards face down on the layout in the designated “OPTIONS” area, zone 5, with their payment on top of these cards. This additional wager is immediately removed to the chip rack as payment for receiving the additional card(s) regardless of the outcome of that round of play. The player's unwanted cards will be discarded and replaced with the same amount of cards by the dealer from the deck in play.

The second option, choice 107, allows the player to buy a sixth card in an attempt to improve their hand. During comparison to the dealer's hand only the player's strongest five-card combination will be considered. For example, in the hand of Queen-Queen-Queen-Queen-8-8, the last eight will not be considered. The sixth card buy will cost the player the equivalent of their ANTE wager. In block 108, payment for the 6^(th) card is placed in the designated “OPTIONS” area, zone 5, by the player. This additional wager is immediately removed to the chip rack as payment for receiving the 6^(th) card regardless of the outcome of that round of play. A player may choose only one of Option 1 and 2, not both.

The player is then presented with choice 109 of whether to fold, block 110, or to double his bet and continue playing, block 111. If the player choses to fold, block 110, they place their cards face down in front of their ANTE wager, zone 4, closest to the dealer. The dealer then removes the player's ANTE wager as a losing bet along with the folded hand of cards. The player then waits for all other players or other hands being played by the player to be completed.

If the player choses to continue paying, the player places a BET wager, this wager must have a value of exactly double the corresponding ANTE wager placed by the player in zone 4. To place the BET wager, the player will place their cards face down in zone 6. This choice signifies the players' decision to go forward with the cards currently dealt to him.

In block 111, a determination is made as to whether the player has a hand ranking equal or greater than three-of-a-kind In block 112, players with three-of-a-kind or higher can insure themselves by placing the insurance sum in zone 5 to protect against the absence of a playing combination in the dealer's hand. The sum must be within the parameters of the anticipated winnings

When the players have made all their decisions about strengthening their hands, the dealer reveals his cards in block 113. Block 114 involves settling any insurance bets placed in block 112. If the dealer doesn't have a playing combination, the player is paid winnings equal to the size of his insurance sum (zone 5). If the dealer's hand is a playing combination and is weaker than the player's hand, the player loses the insurance sum, and if the dealer's hand is a playing combination and is stronger than or equal to the player's hand, the insurance sum is returned to the player.

Block 115 considers whether the dealer's hand is a playing combination. If the dealer does have a playing combination, the game continues to block 120 where each bet is either paid off, taken by the dealer, or a push declared in accordance with a comparison made between the players' hands and the dealer's hand.

Alternatively, if the dealer does not have a playing combination each such player is presented the option, choice 117, to pay a sum equal to their initial bet, by placing it on zone 5 to “buy the game.” For each player deciding to not to pay the sum, block 120 involves paying off the ante bet, zone 4, and returning the doubled bet, zone 6, as a push.

By paying the sum, block 118 is invoked in which the dealer exchanges the dealer's highest card, based on traditional ranks (Ace, King, Queen, etc.) for a new card from the deck. The game then proceeds to block 120 where each bet is either paid off, taken by the dealer, or a push declared in accordance with a comparison made between the players' hands and the dealer's hand. If the dealer still doesn't have a playing combination after the exchange, the initial bet, the ante in zone 4, and the doubled bet in zone 6 are considered pushes and returned to the player. If the dealer has a stronger hand than the player after the exchange, the player loses both the ante of zone 4 and the doubled bet that was placed on zone 6.

If the dealer has a weaker playing combination than the player, either from the initial deal (via block 115) or via having the sum being paid to exchange one of the dealer's cards, block 117, the player is paid winnings in accordance with table 1.1 in relation to the chips placed on the doubled bet, zone 6.

The payoff takes all the fully developed combinations in the player's hand into account, in proportion to the corresponding strength of the playing combination and the table of payouts. Fully developed combinations are any combination included in the group of royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pairs, one pair, and Ace-King.

TABLE 1.1 Hand Pays Royal Flush 100:1  Straight Flush 50:1  Four of a Kind 20:1  Full or Full House 7:1 Flush 5:1 Straight 4:1 Three of a Kind 3:1 Two Pairs 2:1 One Pair 1:1 Ace-King 1:1

If, in addition to the winning combination, there is a second combination in the player's hand, it also gets paid. The second combination must include at least one card that wasn't part of the primary winning combination. No more than two playing combinations may win in a player's hand. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the second combination is paid regardless of whether that second fully developed combination is greater than the dealer's playing combination.

Computer simulations have been run on the above game and have determined that if a player plays optimally, the game presents a 0.77% house edge. Actual play, which involves players most often playing at less than the optimal level, has shown casino hold to be between 20-30% of wagered amounts. Such a hold percent may be higher than desired for an operator. High hold percentage on games can possibly lead to players being turned off to the game. Accordingly, it may be desired to lower the hold percentage such that players are given more “entertainment time” for a given bankroll amount.

In one embodiment, a progressive bet zone 8 is provided. Progressive bets and progressive bet zones are typically bets where the payout is at least partially determined by the size of a collective pot. The size of the collective pot is at least partially determined by the outcomes of previous hands when a progressive bet is played. Games with a progressive bet portion often have a display that shows the size of the collective pot. One example of a progressive bet system is shown in U.S. Patent Publication 2004/0077425, filed on Nov. 15, 2001, titled “Casino table device with automated progressive jackpot,” the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference. Additionally, any existing machine or device used to provide a progressive payout/jackpot may be used.

Progressive bet zone 8 provides an optional bet for a player. A player must be betting in the ante zone 4, block 510, to be able to bet in progressive bet zone 8, block 520. In the current embodiment, a bet placed in progressive bet zone 8 (a “progressive bet”) can only be equal or less than the bet placed in ante zone 4. The game is then played as described above, block 530. Bets placed in zones 4-7 pay out as described above, block 540. Bets placed in progressive bet zone 8 pay off when the player's hand has any of the hands listed in Table 1.2 prior to the player making decisions about strengthening their hand, block 550. Stated differently, the progressive only pays with respect to the initial 5 cards dealt to a player. In one embodiment, progressive bet zone 8, includes an electro-mechanical chip receiver that accepts bets and provides data about the received bets to computer 30 that controls the progressive bet and payout portion of the game. It should be appreciated that computer 30 may actually be a plurality of networked computers. Furthermore, computer 30 may provide and control progressive options and pot for a plurality of gaming tables, all of the same underlying gave variety, or otherwise. At the conclusion of a hand, or otherwise, the appropriate payouts are made to the player, block 560.

The payoff amounts can be adjusted as desired via computer 30. More specifically, in the present example, the payout amounts are set up to generate a negative hold expectation for the game operator (casino). As an isolated bet, the progressive bet has a positive win expectation for the player. However, as noted previously, a player is only able to make a progressive bet by also making a bet in ante zone 4. Accordingly, the desired hold on the progressive bet can be manipulated to alter the overall hold of the combined progressive and other bet portions. Thus, the overall casino hold provided by the game can be customized to provide a desired casino hold. In practice, it is likely that a plurality of discrete casino hold options would be provided for purposes of ease of having concrete rule/payout sets and parameters for approval via regulatory agencies. However, in actuality, the desired hold is substantially infinitely adjustable using the above device and method. While the hold manipulation device and method is described with respect to the specific card game described above, it should be appreciated that device and method can be applied to any game where the hold percentage is desired to be manipulated. One example of a progressive pay table that would result in a negative hold expectation is shown in Table 1.2 (below).

TABLE 1.2 Hand Pays Royal Flush 2000:1 + Jackpot Straight Flush 200:1  Four of a Kind 500:1  Full or Full House 50:1 Flush 50:1 Straight 20:1 Three of a Kind 20:1 Two Pairs  5:1 Jacks or better  5:1

While the above game has been described as being dealt by hand by a dealer and using physical cards, it should also be appreciated that the game may be implemented using an electronic gaming device. Such embodiments using an electronic gaming device would be appear similar to existing “video poker” terminals. Such a device would operate similar to existing video poker terminals, but implement the above described rule sets.

The above detailed description and the examples described therein have been presented for the purposes of illustration and description only and not for limitation. For example, the operations described may be done in any suitable manner. The method may be done in any suitable order still providing the described operation and results. It is therefore contemplated that the present embodiments cover any and all modifications, variations or equivalents that fall within the spirit and scope of the basic underlying principles disclosed above and claimed herein. Furthermore, while the above description describes hardware in the form of a processor executing code, hardware in the form of a state machine, or dedicated logic capable of producing the same effect are also contemplated.

The software operations described herein can be implemented in hardware such as discrete logic fixed function circuits including but not limited to state machines, field programmable gate arrays, application specific circuits or other suitable hardware. The hardware may be represented in executable code stored in non-transitory memory such as RAM, ROM or other suitable memory in hardware descriptor languages such as but not limited to RTL and VHDL or any other suitable format. The executable code when executed may cause an integrated fabrication system to fabricate an IC with the operations described herein

Also, integrated circuit design systems/integrated fabrication systems (e.g., work stations including, as known in the art, one or more processors, associated memory in communication via one or more buses or other suitable interconnect and other known peripherals) are known that create wafers with integrated circuits based on executable instructions stored on a computer readable medium such as but not limited to CDROM, RAM, other forms of ROM, hard drives, distributed memory, etc. The instructions may be represented by any suitable language such as but not limited to hardware descriptor language (HDL), Verilog or other suitable language. As such, the logic, software, and circuits described herein may also be produced as integrated circuits by such systems using the computer readable medium with instructions stored therein. For example, an integrated circuit with the aforedescribed software, logic, and structure may be created using such integrated circuit fabrication systems. In such a system, the computer readable medium stores instructions executable by one or more integrated circuit design systems that causes the one or more integrated circuit design systems to produce an integrated circuit. 

1. A method of playing a card game including: accepting a first wager type from a player on a first gaming round, the first wager type having a first expected hold percentage for the game operator, the first expected hold percentage being greater than zero; and accepting a second wager type from a player on the first gaming round, the second wager type being a progressive type wager, the payout of which is at least partially dependent upon a size of a progressive pot linked to the progressive wager, the second wager type having a second expected hold percentage for the game operator, the second expected hold percentage being less than zero, the second wager type only being accepted from players who have placed a first wager type on the first gaming round.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the absolute value of the second expected hold percentage is less than the absolute value of the first expected hold percentage.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed via an electronic machine that receives input from the player to allow the player to indicate bet amounts and game choices.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the payout of the progressive type wager is at least partially determined by a computer.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first gaming round includes a human acting as one of a dealer and a croupier.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein gaming rounds employ game pieces and the same game pieces determine the outcome of both the first and second wager types.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the game pieces are cards from a standard 52 card deck.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein a first set of player cards is compared to a first set of dealer cards to determine the outcome of the first wager type and the first set of player cards is compared to the first set of dealer cards to determine the outcome of the second wager type.
 9. A method of providing a gaming opportunity including: providing a gaming interface to accept wagers from a first player, the gaming interface providing for: accepting a first wager type from a player on a first gaming round, the first wager type having a first expected hold percentage for the game operator, the first expected hold percentage being greater than zero; and accepting a second wager type from a player on the first gaming round, the second wager type being a progressive type wager, the payout of which is at least partially dependent upon a size of a progressive pot linked to the progressive wager, the second wager type having a second expected hold percentage for the game operator, the second expected hold percentage being less than zero, the second wager type only being accepted from players who have placed a first wager type on the first gaming round.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the absolute value of the second expected hold percentage is less than the absolute value of the first expected hold percentage.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the gaming interface includes an electronic machine that receives input from the player to allow the player to indicate bet amounts and game choices.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the payout of the progressive type wager is at least partially determined by a computer.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the first gaming round includes a human acting as one of a dealer and a croupier.
 14. The method of claim 9, wherein the gaming interface employs game pieces and the same game pieces determine the outcome of both the first and second wager types.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the game pieces are cards from a standard 52 card deck.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein a first set of player cards is compared to a first set of dealer cards to determine the outcome of the first wager type and the first set of player cards is compared to the first set of dealer cards to determine the outcome of the second wager type.
 17. A computer readable medium containing non-transitory instructions thereon, that when interpreted by at least one processor cause the at least one processor to: accept a first wager type from a player on a first gaming round, the first wager type having a first expected hold percentage for the game operator, the first expected hold percentage being greater than zero; and accept a second wager type from a player on the first gaming round, the second wager type being a progressive type wager, the payout of which is at least partially dependent upon a size of a progressive pot linked to the progressive wager, the second wager type having a second expected hold percentage for the game operator, the second expected hold percentage being less than zero, the second wager type only being accepted from players who have placed a first wager type on the first gaming round.
 18. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the instructions are embodied in hardware description language suitable for one or more of describing, designing, organizing, fabricating, or verifying hardware.
 19. The medium of claim 17, wherein the absolute value of the second expected hold percentage is less than the absolute value of the first expected hold percentage. 